helenvalentina

Butterfly

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Helen

Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus Proboscis 2591px (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Butterfly
Monarch princess for
Too brief life

Beautiful
Royal pattern flies
Cross the sky

Freedom is
Your birthright and the
Price you pay

Brevity
Is beauty’s namesake
Once again

Posted in Air, Poetry | Tagged Beauty, butterfly, monarch butterfly, Musings, nature, truth | 15 Comments

Yesterday’s Voices

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Helen

Frozen roses (Photo credit: Vin (can we have it the classic way?))

The telephone sits idle in its cradle
The silence is so deafening it hurts
I’ll forget you tomorrow if I’m able
And I’ll pray to god you get your just deserts

The days in this most awful week are dragging
In shock I feel a fire beneath my skin
The healing just eludes, is sadly lagging
I brood, I toss and turn and won’t begin

The email cursor flickers like a warning
Write, re-write the words I’ll never send
Enraged, I find a strange new form of mourning
The urge to seem aloof, to just pretend

I wonder in your world if you are breaking
Do I occupy your thoughts or am I gone?
Do you endure the sorrow I’m partaking
Or has your cheating heart proceeded on?

I yearn to make you suffer for your choices
To have power of effect I know I’ve lost
But I’m just one of yesterday’s voices
And not the one, I fear, you yearn for most

Posted in Poetry, Water | Tagged choice, cruelty, dark, denial, Dreams, lost love, madness, Musings, pain, passion, Relationships, truth | 25 Comments

My Review: The Seed by Helen Valentina

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Helen

Solothefirst has given me my second review for The Seed – and a very kind and generous review it is indeed – thanks so much!! 🙂

Rambles, writing and amusing musings

Book Description

Sara Fraser, a solitary artist, is haunted by her dreams of a past life where she is deeply in love—a concept and experience foreign to her waking existence. Just as she is becoming known for her artistic endeavors, Sara launches a new series of paintings based on her dreams.

Robert Masters, a journalist in a passionless marriage, interviews Sara about her latest work, only to discover a personal connection to her paintings: it seems he is the man in her dreams. But when Robert, a man who prefers to peer inside others’ lives instead of his own, suddenly finds the intrigue of a possible shared history catapulting him into an intense romance with Sara, a story from the past begins to haunt both of them. As the lovers contemplate leaving the waking world to follow their dreams, the possibility of happiness dictates them to take risks they…

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Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Frozen

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Helen

Frozen, a moment in time (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Images frozen in time
Memories hidden from sight
Words without reason or rhyme
Days when we longed for the night

Choices we cannot remake
Betrayal from hurt and from pride
Cruelty for its own sake
Burying truth deep inside

If we may someday recall
Beginnings, the middle, the end
The cost may be greater, or small
Just the loss of a promising friend

Posted in Air, Poetry | Tagged choice, dark, denial, friendship, Frozen, loss, Relationships, truth | 5 Comments

Voice

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Helen

Could it be
from silence comes
a voice
Could the reach
beyond be a real
choice?
Are there words
a quiet soul may
speak?
Are they worth
the audience
I seek?

All these years
I hid within
these walls
Turned away,
heard not ambition’s
calls
Felt I had
so little new
to say
And my words,
too clumsy
anyway

It’s true there is
no courage without
fear
Security is
just hiding what’s
held dear
And so with all
my bravery, venture
forth
And pray my voice
delivers words
of worth

Posted in Fire, Poetry | Tagged acceptance, Arts, Aspiration, belief, choice, creativity, hope, Musings, writing | 10 Comments

Scrapbook Party – brought to you by Briana Vedsted

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Helen

Briana Vedsted has asked her fellow wordpress bloggers to help host a virtual party for her talented scrap-booking friend Tracy. Join Tracy below in her responses to Briana’s interview questions about her wonderful world of scrapbooking. Enjoy!!

So, what is “scrapbooking”?

Simply put, scrapbooking is putting beautiful, fun paper, photos, and memorabilia together to tell a story.Think of it as enhancing your photos. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What if you don’t know what those words are. Scrapbooking allows you to remember all the stories, jokes, heartfelt moments, and everyday life, and share the memories with family and friends. Imagine looking at a photo from someone else’s life. The photo by itself may give you some hints. Now if the photo were scrapbooked, the story behind the photo would also become clear. Scrapbooking is a fun way to share and remember your story for years to come.

And what in the world is Memory Works?

I like to call Memory Works the Mary Kay of the scrapbooking world. Memory Works carries scrapbooking products from all the big names (Fancy Pants, Pink Paislee and BoBunny, to name a few), as well as their own line called Simple Stories. Memory Works also offers a monthly kit subscription for $29.95 (plus shipping, handling, and sales tax). Each themed kit is packed with coordinated papers and embellishments from different brand name companies.

In addition, Memory Works offers a Hostess Incentive. This is a free gift to the party hostess can earn if the party results in an order of $150.00 (before tax). I like to offer this as well if there is either a single order from a customer of $150, or if there is a group of customers, though not necessarily at a party, that order enough supplies to meet to required minimum. The incentive changes every month and can be anything scrapbooking related, from a collection of patterned papers to a stamp set to a few specific items from a brand name collection.

Is scrapbooking hard to do?

Scrapbooking should be fun, so no, it’s not hard to do. If you find you’re having difficulty, take a step back. See where you’re getting stuck. Are you trying to re-create a technique or layout and it’s not coming together? Do you not understand the terminology? Take me for example. I know thismuch about knitting and crocheting. Now I know the terms knit and perl. Did I spell them right? No idea. Can I tell you what they mean? Nope, sorry. I learned a lot of the terms from magazines and websites. And for me, it clicked. I kept wanting more and more. So it shouldn’t be hard. Again, if you’re running into trouble, try to pinpoint what exactly is giving you pause. Sometimes you need clarification, or to just tell yourself there are no mistakes. I really enjoy it and I’m always learning something new, so there’s no limit to what you can create. I’ve found if you love it, you stick with it and your style evolves from there.

Do you have some examples of what scrapbooking is?

Absolutely. These are some recent layouts (a layout is 1-2 scrapbook pages). I have lots more on my blog with close up detail photos and info on supplies and techniques I used.

Can someone teach me how to scrapbook?

Absolutely, there’s lots of options. Now, I must confess, I learned by doing. I never took a class, nor did I know anyone else who scrapbooked. Heck, I had just learned about it myself. So I went to my nearest bookstore and bought some scrapbooking magazines. Then after reading them and devouring them (figuratively speaking, of course), I went to my local craft store and bought some supplies (careful, this hobby is addicting! in a good way :D). And I started scrapping!.

However, if my journey sounds scary, you can take a class. These can be offered anywhere from a religious/spiritual center, your local craft store (big box and small business), library, school, historical society. If you know someone who is a scrapbooker (the majority of which are women, but there are some VERY talented men out there), you can ask them to teach a class, or just teach you! There are also numerous blogs online whose author post videos for certain techniques, etc. And, being in the age of YouTube, there are blogs, magazines, and individual people who have a channel which you can view and/or subscribe to. One benefit to individual scrapbookers is that they teach techniques that you may not otherwise comes across. And they give you lots of inspiration and ideas.

Where can I get scrapbooking supplies?

In a sense, anywhere. However, just because you CAN get it anywhere doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Office supplies, arts and crafts stores, big chain stores, and local scrapbooking/stamping stores; all of them carry supplies. I’ve actually found that the big box crafts stores by me do carry some of what I need, but not most of what I’m looking for. You can also go the online route, which opens up the possibilities tremendously.

Big box general retailers are limited in what they carry because they’re general retailers. So, see what they carry, check the prices, and think if you’ll actually use it. Don’t get lured by the clearance sticker of half off and pay $5 for a border punch that you’ll never use. This is why if you can, purchase your supplies from a crafts store, a scrapbooking store if possible. If you live out in the middle of nowhere, so to speak, your best options are probably online shopping or a consultant for a scrapbooking supplies company (yes, shameless self-promotion, I had to do a little :P)

I live in the United States, do you know anyone who I could send my pictures to for them to design a scrapbook for me, because I’m just to busy to do it myself right now.

Why, yes I do *wink, wink.* I am happy to design a scrapbook, mini album, etc. for you. My prices are simple and really reasonable. I do not want any screaming wallets, thank you 😛 You can look at my blog, myscrapmuseis.wordpress.com, to check out my prices, and e-mail me at tracy . carrig @ gmail . com to get the whole party started (just delete the spaces before hitting send)!

What is your favorite thing to make?

So far, layouts, either one of two pages. I just finished a two-page layout for my little person’s first birthday. I’ve start making cards, which I sell on my Etsy shop, called ScrapMusings. And I’m starting to get into altered art, mixed media, and mini albums. I’m loving getting messy, and I love layers.

I want to find out more about this art called scrapbooking! Show me more! Are you online? Twitter? Facebook? Pinterest? Got a blog?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. Here’s my stuff:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScrapMuse (ScrapMuse)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scrap-Musings/141917992518574 (or search for Tracy Carrig (you should see a pic of me and my munchkin))

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ScrapbookMuse/boards/ (or look up Tracy Carrig / ScrapbookMuse, or you can just find me from Briana’s page ;P)

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ScrapMusings (shop name: ScrapMusings)

Blog: myscrapmuseis.wordpress.com

Thanks to Briana for setting this up and hosting my interview. And thank you to everyone else who hosts and/or reads my interview. I hope to see and talk to you all soon! Happy scrapping!

Posted in Conversation | Tagged art, Craft, creativity, party, Scrapbook, scrapbooking, virtual party | Leave a comment

Hey, I heard it was someone’s birthday….

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Helen

Happy birthday to the wonderful Ionia! 🙂 🙂

Posted in Poetry | 2 Comments

Debt

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Helen

My debt to you
is this
Turned cheek and not
a kiss
Closed door and not
your friend
No beginning, just
the end

Your debt to me
unpaid
Justice still remains
delayed
You can only be
denied
I hope this wounds
your pride

Posted in Air, Poetry | Tagged belief, choice, cruelty, dark, debt, denial, memory, Musings, pain, Relationships, revenge, truth, war | 12 Comments

Pretty In Pink

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Helen

English: “Pretty in Pink” (2011), pastel and enamel on paper, by Natasja Delanghe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

She was pretty in pink
Her thirteenth year
The schoolyard games
Still gentle, dear
On the cusp of life
Not knowing fear

She was pretty in pink
Could that be enough
To protect from cruelty
When youth gets rough?
In the face of adversity
Does prettiness bluff?

She was pretty in pink
Some friends less blessed
To teenager cruelty
They’d later attest
But what of the pretty
Do they fare the best?

She was pretty in pink
Some say it made her cruel
She divined her society
Was nobody’s fool
In the schoolyard she realised
She was born to rule

No longer pretty in pink
How the years quickly passed
Incremental defeats
Have vanquished her mask
What was the worth of the pretty?
She might as well ask

What was the worth of the pretty?
She might as well ask