Circle work

It's January- must be time for another post. One per month. That's enough, isn't it? It's not like anyone comes here to read anything, or even comes here at all! This is more for my own records. And YUK! I look back at old posts and cringe. Even some of my 'creative' work repels me. Yet, it will stay.

I used to write a lot of music. I started when I was about 10 years old. Before that, I'd make up songs and tunes all the time but never wrote anything down. I wrote songs for people's birthdays, songs to whilst away the time, songs to express my distress or sadness, songs of joy and calmness. Unfortunately, I think I still only have one or two written... somewhere. You see, after a short while, I became repelled by my own work. Now I regret that. Therefore, I pledge to keep my rubbish on this blog!! Even if I hate, hate, hate it. Because, 30+ years on, it still would be nice to see my old compositions, even if it was just to laugh at myself.

Something that doesn't repel me right now:
The lovely blog of the lovely Amy Moss: http://www.eatdrinkchic.com
I think I've come across this site before but that was many blogs ago. I've just rediscovered her work today and am loving all the free goodies she's created to share. I found her (this time) via http://indiefixx.com after looking at their free art giveaways. I did a search on the artists to find out if any of them were Australian. To my amazement, there were several.

Creatively, I've not been doing much for myself at the moment. I got my Christmas cards done, though used one of last year's designs (since I made so many and only used one then). Unfortunately, I'm a big slack-arse and the end of year rush got the better of me.. and I didn't post them out! I managed to hand-out the ones to those I saw but that was it. (I actually did go to the post office but they had sold out of the Christmas stamps- which are cheaper in Australia for sending cards.)

I did a bit of work on my blog header (after, yet another, name change- but we'll ignore that habit for now). Very easy-peasy. I did it just using MS Publisher but you just as easily use MS Word or similar word processing programs.

Just in case anyone wants to know how, if anyone ever comes by here, I'll provide a brief tutorial.

Step 1: collect some lovely background images (eg from digital scrapbooking sites; from free blog tools sites such as the Graphics Fairy's how to blogspot site; or create some yourself).
Step 2: open word or publisher
Step 3: Go to 'insert' on the menu bar across the top. Choose 'shape.' I chose the circle shape. Click on the page somewhere and drag the mouse to create the size of your chose shape.
Step 4: Save your work so far. (Yes, I'm obsessive about hitting that save button.)
Step 5: Click on the shape once. Once you have clicked on the shape, a tab will appear on the menu bar that is called 'drawing tools.' Click on that tab.
Step 6: In 'shape styles' there are a number of pre-set styles you can apply to your shape. Choose one that please you. I chose a white border with a slight shadow to one side.
Step 7: Go to 'shape fill.' Scroll down to 'picture.' Choose one of the pictures you've previously saved or created (or you can just use a solid colour, or experiment with the textures already provided, if you prefer).
Step 8: Save your work.

That it's! From there I just copied and pasted my circles so they would all have the same style applied and then I changed the picture insert to get the different colours/patterns. All I had to do then was to arrange all my circles and add some word art over the top. Easy-peasy!

If anyone ever asks, I'll come back to this post and put up diagrams of each of the steps. For now, I'm sure I'd just be repeating other useful information readily available on the web, but if anyone ever wants to know, give me a holler.

cheerio, Lou

What's in a name?

I've just undergone a change of name for my blog.
Strangely enough, I couldn't work out why my blog had one name and my website address had something completely different. I tried to change the address to suit the original blog name 'L is for...' but that was already taken. Who'd have thought anyone else would be using this? So after trying about ten variations on addresses, I typed in 'Louise was here' and voila! It was available. Seriously? That is available but 'L is for' is not?

Right before this discovery, I was working on a blog header design and had been through a bunch of L-words that I hoped would encompass possible future blog entries:-

Layouts: Part of my background as a musician (which is my field of employment) has meant that I'm also creative in other areas. This has led me to start working on digital layouts in the past year or so. Before this, I've had just about every creative hobby you can think of. For now, I'm sharing just the digital layouts.

Learning: Education- both formal and informal- completely drives me. I believe that we should always be prepared to learn. If we have a teachable heart, we can never stop learning. I am passionate about learning in every situation- from relationships, to new pursuits, to learning to become a better teacher. I love learning how the brain works and how I can best utilise that information when teaching. It really is fascinating.

Losing weight: I'm currently on a major weight-loss plan having just undergone a sleeve gastrectomy operation. (I'll post on that fairly soon, though it will probably become a separate blog.)

Losing the clutter: I've been (very slowly) decluttering my home. That would be a long series of posts with before/after pics although I haven't been too good with the before pics so far! I'm not a great photographer so that is holding me back a little.

Listening: I do love my music (and it is my work as I teach) so I though it would be most fitting to share some of my favourite musicians and music.

Lalala: Okay- not really a word but I had to have something to describe my love for singing and music. I know 'listening' covers some parts of this, but creating and performing are just as important to me. Never know, I might actually get around to sharing some songs I've written or sharing a tip or two on playing an instrument, singing or performing. That's not really the aim of this blog but at this stage, I don't really know where it may lead.

Despite no longer having to stick to words starting with 'L,' I'm sure I'll still get around to posting on these topics. They are all parts of me that I cannot hide. There's no point tip-toeing around subjects which are sure to come to the forefront in one way or another.

For now, the blog is mostly just my ramblings and a place to share some of the digitial designs I've produces.  I did start the blog three years ago with the intent to focus on the workings of life but since having only posted thrice in those three years, my perspective on this has changed.

Thus, I think I'm settled with the new blog title. 'Louise was here' should sum up where I've taken my breaths through life and some of the insignificant memories I will leave imprinted on this planet.

I would have liked to have thought of something which doesn't use my name but I can't think of anything that will be general enough. I don't intend for it to be egotistical- so it's not all about 'Louise' being seen or heard. It's more about where I leave my DNA- what I've dabbled in, impressions I've left behind and experiences I've walked through. It really is more a memoir for myself. If you happen to enjoy reading or using some of my materials, then you are most welcome.

cheerio, Lou

Done is better than perfect

I made this desktop banner to remind me to get on with doing things. 

I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I tend to not 'finish' many projects. I do this at home and at work. That means I've started many a great idea over the years and spent hours and hours working on the project, only to not complete it. This is a problem, as I don't get the recognition or fruits of all that work.

I just can't help myself. I have a constant need to improve material. I've been teaching for over 20 years now and, despite teaching similar classes each year, I'm always expanding material. I barely ever teach a lesson the same way twice. I do like to develop habits in the classroom, so we have our routines. For example, all my students know how to set-up equipment and put it away properly at the end of lessons. The skills I'm teaching are the same every year. But the content has to be updated- both for my sanity and to keep the kiddies engaged. 

The funny thing in teaching teenagers who have wide access to materials every day, is that music that is just a year old, is considered really 'old' to them. This didn't occur 20 years ago. Students didn't have access (via the internet) to such a rapid pace of change in music, therefore I could reuse the same pieces for a few years. Nowadays, anything I drag out that's just a few years old and seems relatively new to me, may have actually been in the charts when they were in early primary school. Therefore, it appears to be from their childhood! Thankfully, most contemporary popular music is built on the same foundations as popular music was from 20 years ago. And- quite often, I can drag out an oldie because it's just been released as a new hit by another artist.

My biggest problem, however, comes in my home. I'm a perfectionist in organising and cleaning. I'm no ten-minute cleaner! I can't handle doing a quick clean of the bathroom and accepting that this is okay. So I end up spending a couple of hours on the one area and make it really, really clean. This then means that I don't have time to clean a bigger area. 

I have, gradually, had to come to accept that a quickie clean is adequate. It's better that I get a lot of area in reasonable shape than to waste time on little things that are barely noticeable to most people. 

Thus my motto for the past year has been 'done is better than perfect.' I'm slowly coming to terms with this and putting it into practise.