Sunday Sketch & Words

Quick 10 minute sketch in journal

Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; 

we love to love.

Leo Buscaglia

Inspired Home - Book Page Wreath

I have wanted to make a book page wreath for a long time. I have seen them on several blogs I read as well as Pinterest. One of the many creative goals I have this year is to attempt actually making the things I am inspired by on Pinterest or around the web. So I decided enough is enough! I AM making a wreath. Can I tell you...it was really easy and didn't take too much time at all.

I found this easy to follow tutorial on YouTube by Jenna DeAngeles. It did take some time figuring out the right way to roll the paper cones. But, once I figured it out I became a one woman cone factory. IT would be a fun little task to do while watching TV or instead of folding laundry. :)

I followed Jenna's directions pretty much for the entire process. After attaching all the cones, I auditioned lots of items I had floating around my house for the center. You really can use all kinds of various things - ornaments (too Christmas-y for all year around for me), burlap, fabric flowers, moss, potpourri, etc. I used my stash of wooden knobs and small flowers from an earth toned package of potpourri. I LOVE how it looks!! It really makes a beautiful, strong statement.

The cones are hot glued to a square 12x12 piece of Styrofoam. There are two office binder clips on the top of the Styrofoam to hold the twine for hanging. I have it hanging on the back of my front door right now. I had so much fun making this book page wreath, I may end up with one in every room. :)

Have you made a book page wreath? No? Hurry up! Go! :)

Happy Friday!

Washi Tape Altered Tag

Today I wanted to share a tag I created with some fun washi tape. I was inspired by the technique that Sharon Laakkonen used for the Creative Jump Start Summit hosted by Nat Kalbach. Have you joined along?? I love it. Each morning in January I have received a wonderful creative video in my inbox to get my creative juices flowing. I love being introduced to new artists, teachers, and techniques. If you haven't checked CJS 2013 out, you should click right here and join!

Washi tape is so fun to use and there are so many different ways to utilize all the colorful patterns. Right!? I think I need to add a Washi Tape board to my Pinterest, so I can gather all the various ideas I see. :) In Sharon's video she covered her entire manilla tag with washi tape which created a fabulous texture for the background. So I started there! Look!! Super fab!

After covering the entire tag with coordinating washi colors, I laid down a layer of gesso to prepare for some painting and stamping.

I really love this circle stamp I found at Michael's in the clearance section. I love the size! It was only $1.99, so how could I pass it up?

I decided that I would make a tag also inspired by my daughter and spring. I had some paper butterflies in my stash that I wanted to use. I painted the butterfly with blue acrylic paint for contrast. 

I looked through my billions of letters to find the letter M. (OK. Slight exaggeration. Maybe not a billion, but I am addicted to letters. Could it be the teacher in me? I do not know. I found a package of these chipboard letters from K&Company at the dollar store. Score!)

I added all my little goodies and also punched a butterfly directly into the tag. I have seen this done by quite a few people, but had never tried it before. All you do is punch or cut out a shape, then add patterned paper to the back so it shows through. It is a great way to add visual interest and texture. You can see where I did it with that little white butterfly. Some of the white paper hangs below the bottom of the tag. I cut it with a pair of scalloped craft scissors. (Technique also shown in Sharon's video)

Here is the finished tag. Super cute and girlie. I added some turquoise ribbon through holes in the letter M. On the right side of letter I glued some chipboard flowers that came in the letter package and added a little bling. Along the bottom I attached some cream colored lace. I love this lace because it has adhesive on the back. SO easy. Peel and stick! :)

Hope you are having a lovely Tuesday!

Welcome 2013

Happy New Year Everyone! How was your celebration? Our festivities were very mellow and relaxing. Just the Hubs and my kiddies eating dinner, ice cream, and a fun family movie together. Since we are in California and keeping my kids up until midnight wouldn't work...we celebrate east coast style at 9:00! :) We watch the ball drop and bang pots and pans. It's amazing how fun this is for kids. Simple pleasures I tell you. 

Journal page in the works

 I am really looking forward to 2013. How about you? 2012 wasn't bad and I wasn't chasing it out the door...but, I just really love the feeling of newness, beginning, and the expectation of things to come. It's like January begins and we all have a brand new life canvas to begin layering up with all the things 2013 will bring. That's exciting stuff!

Now, I will tell you...the word resolution makes me nervous. I am sure I wrote about it last New Year's. "Resolutions" just seem so daunting, looming, and for me negative. Maybe it's because I have not stuck with them in the past. How about you? Do you stick with them? If I word things differently...like calling them goals, intentions, expectations, wishes, or my focus...it works better. Funny how the mind works sometimes.  :) 

So here are some of my goals for the coming year. I thought if I actually wrote them down here, I'd be encouraged to follow through. Lol. I often have a plethora of ideas, but lack follow through. Now I will be held accountable! Kinda scary. ;)

Without further adieu...

** Blog more regularly
** Create one series for the blog and stick to it
** Commit to better storytelling with my pictures: My oodles of pictures often stay put on the computer. I need to be better about documenting things with something like digital books, journaling, Project Life, etc
** Drink more water: Yep, not enough right now!
** Begin making prints of some of my paintings
** Continue adding abstract painting to my body of work
** Learn to shoot in Manual mode on my camera: It is time!
** Teach more mixed media art classes
** Submit my work to be published: I always get so excited to see my bloggy art friends in magazines like Somerset!! I think I'd pass out if I saw my own!
** Write more tutorial, technique, and how to blog posts
** Exercise, exercise, exercise! I have fallen off the wagon. ;)
** Organize my house: I admit I like things neat. My house is usually pretty tidy. Clutter drives me batty. BUT, drawers, cabinets, closets, pantries = hot mess!  Time to fix that.
** Find more soul time and get a good devotional to read every day. EVERY day. Need to keep my heart and soul focused on the important stuff!
** Try to cook at least 1 new vegan recipe every week or two: I have become pretty lazy with my chef skills. I eat a mainly vegan diet due to health issues so keeping it fresh and new is important for me and my very supportive family. :)
** Wear more color. I need not be afraid to stand out. Lol!
** Leap into new situations with confidence and gratitude. Worry about the insecurities later. :) Time waits for no one.

Whoa! I better get busy, right? I am sure I will add more to the list as the year progresses. I think I will transfer this list into a journal spread and get moving on making 2013 amazing!

What are some of your goals for the coming year?? 

I'd love to hear some of them!!