The REV It Up List

Artful music

Yesterday, for my 11 year wedding anniversary, I had the privilege of experiencing the live performance of rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.  This has been one of my all time favorite musicals ever since I can remember. When you put together the greatest story ever told with the genius, skill and talent of amazing artists, what’s not to like? It was one of four musical theater masterpieces by the glorious team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice written in the early 1970s.  They also co-wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968), The Likes of Us (1965-66) and Evita (1976-78.) 

I have seen various stage productions of Jesus Christ Superstar since the early 1980s in Mexico City and I have seen Norman Jewison’s musical film version several times. What I had never seen, however, was Ted Neeley in his role as Jesus Christ performing live!  Ted Neeley played the title role in the film version so I have already been a fan of his voice for many years. However, having the opportunity to experience him perform live was an absolute treat to my soul. Mr. Neeley’s performance last night was moving and very powerful. As in the movie, his sublime voice managed to bring me to tears.

The role of Judas for this production was performed brilliantly by Living Colour’s Corey Glover. Mary Magdalene was very endearing by Tiffini Dodson, Darrel Whitney was fantastic as Caiaphas and Aaron Fuksa was as entertaining as ever as King Herod.

With Jesus Christ Superstar, Lloyd Webber and Rice created musical art in an amazing way. Songs like “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Hosanna,” “Everything’s Alright,” “What’s the Buzz,” “Superstar,” and “Heaven on Their Mind” are simply unforgettable and have become part of our musical history! 

If you love music, this is surely an event to experience. This same production will be touring the US in the next several months, including cities like San Diego, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado and many others. Check their programmed schedule in this link.

BE CRAFTY! BE Reading!

If you've been wanting to get into scrapbooking or you are already a seasoned scrapper who needs a little challenge, January will be your lucky month! Lain Ehmann and Big Picture Scrapbooking are offering a FREE month-long workshop of lay outs and ideas with Get A LOAD of This, a lay-out a day challenge. There will be surprises and PRIZES and for every participant who signs up, Lain will donate $1 to the Books For Kids foundation! WOW!
The Get a LOAD of This! workshop is not the only free thing going on over at Big Picture Scrapbooking! Registration for Tena Sprenger's FREE book club at Big Picture Scrapbooking is now open. Did I already say it is FREE to join The Reading Room? I think I should say it again, it is FREE to join! Journal Revolution is the book for February! The great thing about this book club (The Reading Room) is that there are a variety of books being featured, such as Julie and Julia, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and What I Know Now. Karen and I are looking forward to all the Journal Revolution discussions and chats and we will be participating in the group. If you don't already know Tena, you need to! We love her. She's so funny, so clever, so smart, so good at doing her hair. You do not need to be a scrapbooker to participate in (and enjoy) the book club.

Upcycled Starbucks Gift Card Coasters

One of our favorite things about Starbucks (aside from the peppermint hot chocolate) is the way they incorporate art into EVERYTHING, even their gift cards. The artists at Flawed Flock have recycled (or as they say, upcycled*) used Starbucks gift cards into too cool for words coasters!

*I'm not sure what the difference is between recycled and upcycled but it doesn't  matter because these coasters are fabulous! What was tossed into the garbage is now ART!

Set up your craft corner really fast!

If you are the type of person who uses your ironing board for ironing instead of as a surface to craft on like I do, check out Spiderlegs handcrafted portable folding tables. The tables are easy to store and easy to set up. Just unfold it!  They are perfect for crafters or artists who live in small spaces. Any corner of your home can be your craft corner with these innovative furniture pieces.

Give a Better World

One of the best (and interactive!) gifts we received this year was a gift card to TisBest. As recipients of a TisBest gift card, we got to select a charity to receive the funds in our gift card. When you purchase TisBest gift cards, the amount you spend is tax deductible~an added bonus in gift giving! You get the deduction, your loved one gets the fun of choosing the charity, and best of all, the charity gets some much needed funding.

Flickr inspiration

Have you stopped by flickr lately? The photographic inspiration there is simply AMAZING. Today I would like to share with you a few of my favorite groups.

This quote group called Wenyi: Photos, Poetry & Inspiration, for example, is a great place to visit. Recently they used some of my Christmas pictures for an entry on the topic "What does love mean?"  I loved the quotes and scripture they used for that thread. 

There are actually quite a few groups dedicated to quotes and pictures in flickr. I am amazed to see how many people can also relate to the idea of sharing their favorite quotes. You can visit some of these groups here and here.

There is also a great comment group called Life Thru A Lenz. I love the community in that group because you are guaranteed to get at least five comments with specific feedback about your pictures. It is a great way to learn from each other.

Another group that is sure to fill your heart with inspiration is of course the Journal Revolution Art Army.  I love seeing the ART people create. I love the enthusiasm and overall feeling of artful expression.  It has become a favorite stop for me. 

10 Things is another group I love. Each month you get to pick 10 things you absolutely love and present them in a photo creation of your choice. It is very fun to see all the things people LOVE.

I'll share some more links in another entry.  For now I'll leave you with a recent picture I downloaded here. 

The Milkman shirts & accessories

I always like to do a search on Etsy of my favorite things about once a month. Usually this search goes like this—irish, notre dame, nashville, letterpress, birds, and the list goes on and on. Just last week in searching for Nashville ‘schtuff’, I found the milkman, that sells too cute baby and toddler shirts. And you can even buy little milk jugs to put them in. (Can you see that I'm continuing with Linda’s milk + cookie theme?)

For that future little Johnny Cash in your life, I particularly like this shirt. My little man is definitely getting one for his ever looming birthday, coming up just after Christmas.

You can also visit their website here, and they’re offering free shipping till ’08!

Inspiring the masses

Paolo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, has been one of my favorite fiction novelists for several years. His works, which include about eight novels, two memoirs and several collections of writings among other things, have been sold in over 150 countries worldwide and have been translated into 66 languages. The Alchemist is a lovely story of a boy named Santiago who goes into a quest for the pursuit of his dreams. Coelho's somewhat simple, but heartwarming style is one of the things I love about his books. His stories draw you in right away and while they can generally be a quick read, their characters leave an imprint in your heart that is hard to forget.

Through his blog, Coelho shares a series of daily messages that I often find inspiring and uplifting. One of his recent stories titled "How to do what I want" made me reflect on the importance of loving what we do. I particularly enjoyed reading one of the comments left by a woman named Tania who shared author Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s words, “This holy longing is to live passionate, rather than passive, lives.” I loved that quote because I do believe that work is deeply connected to passion. Our true passions awaken through our every day work and that's precisely why we need it. It's the fuel that keeps us alive. A life without work would indeed be hell. I hope you too can find some inspiration and uplifting messages through his blog. 

And if you need some visual inspiration, I have paired some of my favorite quotes from his books with my nature photography in my quote-a-day blog.

Mr. Coelho also has a flickr page with some of his personal photos, including a folder with the theme, "a day in the life." I think that an author who can share freely his art and his words with the world, and takes the time to document the fabulous adventure of the every day life, is indeed one amazing person.

healing your broken heart

Author Susan Piver has a helpful video about mending a broken heart. She also has a cool red couch. It's been our experience that people with red couches usually have really good advice. We have enjoyed Susan's articles in Shambhala Sun (especially I Do? ) and are looking forward to reading her newest book, How Not To Be Afraid Of Your Own Life.

cookies and milk napkins: Bamboo Village Press

A cute napkin is essential when you are enjoying cookies and milk. Otherwise, you end up with crumbs on your shirt and sticky fingers! I found these adorable milk and cookies napkins ($24) designed by artist Laurie in the Bamboo Village Press shop at etsy. When you shop at Bamboo Village Press,  100%  of profit from sales on products from their Guest Artists goes to the Bamboo Village Education Fund.