March Musings #29: Scrapbook Art

Tonight, when the heart started to tire and the writing slowed down, I paused for the creativity surges to be turned on once again. Inspired by scrapbooking art and the word surrender, I created a notebook page of thoughts. 

Then, I went further and designed a digital inspiration. 

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Original scrapbook page of thoughts artistically presented for my notebook

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Wait and be patient is a slogan that I need to embrace!

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Day 29 of Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge

March Musings #28: What If?

What if I was proactive each day?

What if I did not pass time away?

Could I move the what if roadblock

to let opportunity knock?

#DareToBe held a Twitter chat last night on the topic, "Dare to Be Proactive!" I have been procrastinating completing a few larger projects lately because of the what if questions that loom in my mind. To unclutter my mind and be able to move forward with what I would like to accomplish, I created a video poem that you can access below.

Now off to today's task.

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Day 28 of Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge

March Musings #11: Happiness Is...

Happiness is...

morning sun waking day

soft snowflakes at joyful play

evening stars fully dressed

summer flowers deftly pressed

lulling waves come to shore

kites afloat as they soar

baby smiles and warm embrace

a slowing down, reflective pace
©CVarsalona, 2018

Is happiness your go to place?

May your day be filled with joy and happiness!

 

Day 11 of Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge

"Appsmashing" Fun

"Winter is a season of recovery and preparation."

-Paul Theroux

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Each day I try to notice and wonder more when I go outside but yesterday was a busy day. I spent most of it indoors preparing for a professional development workshop and later in the day working with my painter who is refreshing different rooms in my house. For a quick diversion,  I designed an indoor space to wonder about winter. 

How did I do that? Virtually, of course!

I took several steps and used my appsmashing abilities to carefully add layer upon layer to a Buncee Board on my computer. The outcome was the creation of an #imagepoem, a virtual winter day with dancing snowflakes. 

If you take a look at my animated Buncee you will see what I mean. You can find it here. 

In between work-related tasks, I had fun digitally designing. 

Would you like to take a look into my process? 

-First, I found a photo of clouds in Florida taken by my Twitter friend, Valerie Tilton. 

-Digitized it using PicMonkey. 

-Opened my Buncee dashboard and started creating: used the original photo of the clouds as my background; inserted my digital poem; added music; created a plaque greeting the snowy day; animated the image with falling snow.

-Traveled over to Wonderopolis and found Wonder of the Day #79 to add for content onto the Buncee platform. 

-Constantly reflected after viewing each part of the digital.

- Made changes.

-Published the Buncee.

-Sent the Buncee out to Facebook and Twitter for feedback.

Enjoying winter as a season of recovery and preparation, allowed me time to notice, wonder, and discover the magic of digital tools to enhance my indoor winter world.

Perhaps, you would like to have some digital fun like I did. You still have a couple of days to create your own digital inspiration for my Winter Wonderland Gallery of Artistic Expressions. The invitation and guidelines can be found here. Enjoy life today! I'm off to do so on this sunny winter day.

Today is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers. I am joining them here.

Sunkissed Summer Gallery Unveiled

"Summertime and the livin' is easy."

-Porgy and Bess

Designed by Carol Varsalona
featuring a Community of Reflective Writers
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The last day of summer appeared without delay but my mind and spirit were still in summertime. I now reminisce about the consistent flow of sunkissed moments, each one making summer on Long Island a breathtaking experience. Summertime creates its own aura of positive vibes across the world and allows us to tell our stories through images and powerful wording. 

Pause for a moment now to recollect your summertime experiences before dipping your toes into Sunkissed Summer Gallery of artistic expressions. 

I invite you to Relax! Reflect! Recharge!
Engage Your Senses!

Within the spaces of this gallery, artistic designs and powerful voices from around the world blend together creating a collection of inspiring digital creations. Let's celebrate summer! Open your heart to receive each beautifully rendered image that recalls the summer of 2017.

Are you ready to stroll through the gallery's artistic expressions that flow like the roaring waves across the shore? Are you ready to feel summer touching your heart and mind? If so, let the story of summer 2017 unfold and bring you back to a relaxing time. 

Let's begin the tour. I open the doors of Sunkissed Summer Gallery for your viewing pleasure. 

There were ordinary summer days of carefree living

and out-of-the-ordinary moments-

life living moments to celebrate-

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the field has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” -Eleanor Duse

day trips to enjoy with family-

Point Lookout, Long Island

Debbie Diller

Kid's Pool, Reston, Virginia

Families enjoy parades-photo of Clyesdales by Debbie Diller, Pennsylvania

and new adventures to take.

Julieanne Harmatz

Mrs. Sidhu, Haida Gwaii

Leslie Carothers

Ramona Behnke, Washington

Alaska Tracy, Alaska

Nature often stirs our senses when we are outdoors enjoying summer life.

Michelle Kogan

Terje Akke, Estonia

@Alaska Tracy, Alaska

Devin Hartnett McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, Maryland

Monet, In the Meadow, submitted by Tabatha Yeatts

Mireille Taub

Ramona Behnke, Washington

Mark Weston, Hiking in Colorado

@rilmcknight

Summer's lazy, dog days fill our lives with tranquility.

Margaret Simon, Louisiana

Time for a musical break.

Inspiration by Michelle Haseltine

Children are full of the spirit of noticing, wondering, and enjoying life in the summer.

Summer's vivid florals brighten landscapes.

Rose Pillay, Sunflower Stroll, British Columbia

"The earth laughs in flowers."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Fletcher

Sunflower Season by Devin Hartnett, Rocklands Farm, Maryland

" On the beach, you can live in bliss."

-Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys

Teresa Gross

The beach draws artists near to create ocean-inspired artwork.

There's a different type of sunbather in Florida



and a different type of singer in Louisiana.

Relax with the sounds of past decades. Listen to Chad and Jeremy sing their Summer Song live from 1964. It is the just right song for the last day of summer.

"A dark night, lightened up by thousands of glowing fireflies...

It's magical..."

-Ama H. Vanniarachhy

"Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August."

-Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty

Carol Varsalona, Chihuly Exhibit, New York Botanical Gardens

"Summer cooking implies a sense of immediacy, a capacity to capture the essence of the fleeting moment."
Elizabeth David, food writer (1913-1992)






"Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon." -C.S. Lewis

Pause once again to listen to summer music.

When nights darken early, summer sings its swan song but memories remain-vivid reminders of glorious sunsets.

©CV, 2017, Long Beach, NY

Margaret Simon, Louisiana

"Oh, the summer night
Has a smile of light,

And she sits on a sapphire throne."
-Barry Cornwall

Then, like a nighttime dream, summer softly slips away and passes the baton to autumn. 

In late summer, teachers wait at the door to learning.

Back to School Thought

During your gallery walk, were you able to

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It is time to reflect.

Did you
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Were you inspired by this gallery to create your own poem or inspirational quote using one of your summer photographs? Are you encouraged to design a video, movie, or multimedia presentation of your Summer 2017 for your family? 

My short video created with Magistro is here. 

Photos of Lorrie Brady, Mary C. Howard, Carol Varsalona, Terje Akke, 

Dave Burgess, Char Shyrock,  Kumud Ajmani, and Rose Pillay.

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Enjoy listening to a playlist of summer songs 

through the decades.

It is my sincerest hope that your gallery walk through Sunkissed Summer was a relaxing, entertaining, and memorable experience.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all the writers, poets, artists, and photographers who joined me on this summer journey.

You can visit the following global galleries that integrate the arts, technology, and poetry by clicking on the individual titles.

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2014

Reflect With Me: Bring a Community of Writers Together to Celebrate Life & Teaching 

April Awakenings

Summer Serenity

Finding Fall

2015

Winter Whisperings

Spring's Symphony

Summer Splashings

Autumn's Palette

2016

Winter Wanderings

Spring's Seeds

Summerscapes

Autumnventure

2017

Winter Wonder

Springsations

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Thank you for perusing Sunkissed Summer Gallery. As an act of kindness, please leave a comment on social media or in the comment section of this blog. That would be appreciated.

I invite you to return at the end of the fall season for a new gallery, Autumn Ablaze, that will showcase the brilliancy of nature. - Carol