the alisun! revealed! positivity pajaki style...

as you can see above - my lovely and talented (and continually compliment giving) friend alisun proposed a project this month that would force me to pay attention to what people say...especially the nice things they may direct my way. i mean WHAT? yikes. not good with compliments over here. but hey, i was ready to see where this challenge would take me. i have to say right away that i got a fair amount of practice looking someone in the eye and sincerely saying "thank you."

i hope this makes clear why there was secrecy surrounding the project...i mean, i didn't want it to feel like i was soliciting compliments/kind words because that would be cheating right?

but how to create something artsy out of these words...that was also a challenge! luckily, i randomly saw a picture of a pajaki (polish folk art chandelier) and thought A-HA. it's bright and whimsical like alisun and it has a lot of paper components...to write on of course!

OCCY 2015...a may challenge from alisun!

holy moly, it's may already and thus time for another project! this challenge is from my dear friend alisun. we met at the soap factory's haunted basement event and i felt instantly that she was a dazzling lady i wanted to get to know better (cheesy but true)...the term "kindred spirit" comes to mind. plus she's makes me laugh like crazy and she's super talented - check out her work here.

but folks, i'm in a bit of a dilemma. i would normally be crafting a way to announce my next project (and believe me i'm totally excited about this one!!!)...but i'm flummoxed about how to actually tell you about it without your knowledge of it having an influence on the whole thing. confused yet? basically, what i'm trying to say is that there's a chance that YOU could be involved in this project. but, don't worry, it's not like i'm secretly filming you or anything.

so, i'm leaning towards keeping it a SECRET. well, until the end of the month at least. i CAN tell you that this challenge is another one that takes me a little bit out of my comfort zone while also forcing me to be present. is that vague enough? believe me, it's a wonderful challenge from a wonderful lady and i can't wait to tell you all about it in a few weeks. until then, just act normal.

the mary! up up and away!

another project completed!

plus, now i can build a kite without looking at the directions...progress/knowledge! no guarantee that it will fly though. and since i learned about the downside of spray-paint on garbage bags (or not on garbage bags), finishing these kites for mary felt like i was opening the door to something new and exciting. my brain started to dart from one material to the next - kites with fabric, kites with twigs, kites with paper, etc x infinity.

april challenge update...the ups & downs

OK, so far i have learned that:

1) kites are fairly easy to build if you actually slow down and read the directions...it only took me two tries on that front - see my issues with patience from last month's challenge. and who knew that you can make a kite out of garbage bags, dowels & scotch tape? simple stuff.

OCCY 2015...an april challenge from mary!

my challenge this month is from my friend mary. and here's the thing: it wasn't her original challenge. boom...i'm in charge here so we can switch things up, or rather mary can if she wants to. and she did. the rules are that we have no rules.

first, let me tell you about mary and then i'll tell you about the project.

the first time i met mary (yikes, the mid-90s college years), we were visiting in her kitchen and she sat right down on the floor while talking to me. granted, she may have been petting a cat, but it was a vivid - dare i say radical - memory. i'm not giving anything away when i say that mary is older than i am...old enough to be a parent...but when she sat on the floor it was like she was (radically) telling me: "i'm not the adult here, i am the friend here and i SEE you." or at least that's what it communicated to my spirit.

the ahnna! another tiny free library enters the world.

my march creativity challenge is COMPLETE! the handover went without a hitch...and now my friend ahnna is gonna run her own tiny free library. yay!

challenge update...watching paint dry!

goodness, i'm impatient! and i feel so close to finishing this challenge. but since i'm forced to take a break (and watch/not watch the paint dry), i thought maybe i should throw up some pictures of how this tiny free library project is going so far.

challenge update...THE AHNNA!

OK, it probably seems like i'm not really doing anything related to my march challenge - the little free library. and that was kinda true for a while, but mostly because i felt overwhelmed with the construction part (which in my brain equated to the non-creative part...actually it felt like a math problem and i'm really bad at math) and what i wanted to think about was the decorating part. plus i wanted to create something cool for my dear friends...duh!

simply: decorating = art/fun. building = stress/the chance of screwing up fairly badly.

but wait! i found out that my awesome cousin cindy (props to relatives) freaking LOVES to build things and has offered to help me follow the plans (found at the little free library website) to construct a library that ahnna and bob will not be too embarrassed to have in their yard. well, hopefully they will like it after i do the decorating part AKA "sara flair"!

OCCY 2015...a march challenge from ahnna!

another month, another project. this one is from my friend (since the 5th grade kinda) ahnna! pictured above - after she won 1st place in a backyard ping pong championship this past summer.

the martha! a sock creature out in the world.

so, it's not a bug as i originally intended. it's just a "creature"...made from mostly socks. and what would creatures do? they would hang out in their natural habitat. which is coincidentally the warmest place i could find in minnesota in february: como park conservatory.

challenge update...the MARTHA!

OCCY 2015...a february challenge from martha!

FEBRUARY! my second challenge is from my friend (and mentor) martha...pictured below looking all windswept. i've known martha since the mid-1990s and i'm so lucky to have her participate in this project.

the wendy! january challenge video...

holy crap, this project was really fun and so out of my comfort zone...from creating the dress, to wearing the dress in public, to ice skating, to editing this ridiculous video...it was a riot. and what a way to kick off the year. i know that i never would have done any of these things without being challenged by wendy!

so here is the final video...wendy you inspired this, i hope it makes you laugh! (embrace the ridiculous!)

thanks again heather...and edith piaf!

challenge update...THE WENDY!

what a fun and exhausting day working on the next part of the january challenge from wendy - THE VIDEO SHOOT! luckily, i finished the outfit last night - pictured above pre-spray paint. onto the dress i picked up at the thrift store (which was my base): i added strips of old catalogs in three layers, fabric from a quilting class i took in 2005, seam binding, plastic from tofu containers and some of my own blood since i was kinda hand-sewing blind for the most part. 

OCCY 2015...a january challenge from wendy!

JANUARY! my first challenge is from my friend wendy...pictured above looking all sassy. she lives in philly, has two sweet adventurous boys and gives great hugs. i miss her...obviously.

a new year...a whole bunch of challenges!

at the end of 2014, i was feeling pretty stagnant in the creativity department and thought what? what? what? can i do to get out of this rut. then i realized that i'm surrounded by incredibly creative people who can help me figure this out and thus OPERATION CREATIVITY CHALLENGE YO 2015 was born. it's basically 12 different challenges (one per month), all chronicled here - to keep me honest. 

ok, backstory...in november, i sent a letter to a varied group of friends/family (lovely volunteers) asking for help:
1. I am to do one challenge per month - theme/parameters assigned by YOU. 

2. I will chronicle challenge related progress/finished product over the year on my (currently very dormant, but appropriately named) blog: myfantasticdistractions.blogspot.com. If I can remember how to use Blogger. [if you are reading this, i've accomplished that...yay!]

i included a postcard that listed their name and assigned month....the rest was up to them:

Do you want me to create something with the theme of dryer lint? I will attempt to do your theme justice. Do you want me to only use green yarn and lima beans? Will do. Do you want me to write a poem about a cat? I could probably do that. Do you want me to perform a dance about Vladimir Putin at the Mall of America. I’m not sure how excited I will be to do it, but it will be done. You can be as broad or as specific as you want.  

i tried to stress that the things i would be creating could be bad (AKA not good), but the point is that OCCY15 gives us BOTH an opportunity to be creative. it’s a win-win. (see the whole year of returned challenges all taped up on my door in the picture above)

and wow, i got some truly AMAZING challenges...from music to furniture to bike rides...each one so unique and cool! for reals. i think its going to be a fun (and funny) journey, please join me!

rebirth...with a challenge.

so, it's time to bring the blog back to life with a challenge! my personal creativity project challenge, which I have titled "operation creativity challenge yo - 2015!" whew, I just said challenge a lot.

so get ready for a really fun year...chronicled right here. 

time to retire...

it's time to stop blogging...maybe not forever, but for now.
i will still be over on pinterest and tumblr.

winter bleh...

i'm having some serious winter bleh AKA struggling with the cold/dark...and seem to be losing hope that it will ever be warm again. i know it will, but these frigid months are just dragging on and on. since i can't control the weather, i'm trying to think tropical thoughts AND i started my run training again. exercise is a good way to get warm...that and the sauna at the gym. i hope you are staying warm today!

gone fishing...kinda

i'm so busy and headed out of town this weekend...my poor blog is getting the short shrift. please enjoy this iconic image and accept my sincere apologies.

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