Enjoy Today Layout

It's been a while since I made a 6x8 scrapbook layout. Honestly, I really enjoy creating smaller sized scrapbook layouts. It's easier and takes less time to create. I love Crate Paper's All Heart collection, so I decided to use several items from the collection on this layout. I also used a few pieces from Freckled Fawn and Pinkfresh Studio. The rainbow die cut is from a pack of Amy Tangerine ephemera. I love that the words "Enjoy Today" are in gold foil.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Downtown Smyrna and found a beautiful piano. Of course, I took a photo of it and knew that I wanted to document it in a layout. Finding this piano made me want to explore my city more and discover more hidden (and not so hidden) gems.

What are you currently working on? Have you gone on any adventures?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

A Creative Evolution

I've just recently realized that I am going through a season of change and evolution. This is especially true with my art and writing. I've noticed these changes thanks to the current season of Get Messy. This month's theme is Season of Failure. I'm really enjoying this season and have slowly been working on some projects. I have not been creating every day. However, when I do, I have been gravitating towards techniques and items that I do not normally use. Honestly, it's been hard to try new things and use some of the products that I recently purchased. I wouldn't say that I'm a hoarder, but I've definitely been holding on to some art and craft supplies that were just too perfect to use.

This season of Get Messy has made me use those items and things that I probably wouldn't ever use. A few days ago, I made a layout using Crate Paper's latest collection, All Heart. The collection is gorgeous and is chock full of things that I don't normally use in my papercraft and journaling. If you've seen my layouts then you would know that I rarely use florals, pastels, and soft colors in my projects.  I tend to use bright and colorful products. But I decided to just let go and try a bunch of new stuff. Creativity takes courage.

Below is the layout that I made.

I used so many things that I rarely use in this layout. This was the first time that I used lace in a project. I also chose to use a kraft colored patterned paper from the All Heart 6x8 paper pad. There's also quite a bit of pink in this layout. I usually avoid using all of these things in my projects. I even used two selfies. If you know me then you know that I don't take a lot of selfies. In fact, I did not like how those two photos turned out. However, I decided to use them anyways.

As always, I added journaling and used my date stamp. I don't think that will ever change. It's just part of my style and is essential to my work.

The journaling says:

I am going through a season of change. I've been evolving especially when it comes to my art and writing. This evolution is good and so needed in my life, but it has been so intimidating. It's been somewhat difficult, but I'm so glad that I'm letting go and taking risks. It's been a learning experience and one that I don't regret.

I added a quote by Frida Kahlo. She is my favorite artist of all time. Lately, I've been so inspired by her work. Frida forever!


Have you ever noticed that you have been evolving? Have you ever gone through a season of change? Did you embrace it?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

My 100 Day Project

Happy Thursday! On April 4, 2017, the 100 Day Project started. The challenge will run until July 12, 2017. The 100 Day Project is a project/challenge where you pick something that you want to do for 100 days. Last year, I decided to join the challenge and decided to make art for 100 days. Unfortunately, I did not complete the challenge. I did make art like cards, paintings, art journal pages, etc., but I did not make art every single day. Even though I did not complete the challenge last year, I did learn a lot and came up with a list of ways to actually complete the challenge.

Pick something specific

One of the main things that I know caused me to fail to complete the challenge was not picking something specific. There are so many different things that you can make. There were days where I just couldn't decide what to make or what supplies to use. This year, I decided to pick something specific to make. I am going to make 100 handmade greeting cards for my 100 Day Project.

Time

I didn't set a time limit for creating my art. For instance, it would have been useful if I had decided to set at least 5-10 minutes everyday to create art. Everyday I will set an alarm for 5 minutes so that I can create my card. I think 5 minutes is plenty of time to make a card. However, if I go over 5 minutes then it will still be ok. I also plan to set a few alarms throughout the day so that I will be reminded that I have to make card. This will be useful because some days I am very busy in the morning and some days I am busy in the afternoon.

Supplies

Since my challenge last year was to create art everyday, I noticed that I had a lot of different supplies that I could use. For instance, I have watercolors, acrylics, markers, kits, Project Life cards, etc. that can be used to make art. I felt a bit overwhelmed with all of the supplies and having so many different supplies made it harder for me to choose what I wanted to make each day. You would think that having a lot of different supplies would be helpful, but it really was hard for me to choose what to make. This year I am going to use my Freckled Fawn kits to make my cards. As I have said before, I am a subscriber to Freckled Fawn and still have a ton of the previous kits. Not only am I challenging myself to make a card everyday, but I am also challenging myself to use my kits.

Be sure to follow my 100 Day Project on Instagram: Emily's 100 Days of Cards

Are you participating in the 100 Day Project? If you are please feel free to share what you plan to do?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...
SaveSave

Abstract Watercolor Paintings

Happy Thursday! After making a lot of cards for the past couple of weeks, it's been really nice being able to paint again. Over the past few days, I have been working in my Moleskine watercolor notebook and I am loving it!

I'm still learning more about watercolors. I'm learning how to mix colors and different techniques. The paintings that I have done for the past week are abstract paintings. Check out my paintings below.

Supplies Used:

• Moleskine Watercolor Notebook
• Winsor Newton Cotman 24 Whole Pan Set
• Winsor Newton Round Brush - Size 10
• Gelly Roll White Pen
• Black Pen

What supplies do you use to watercolor?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Indie Arts Alliance - Free Art Movement

Happy Monday! I am so excited to share with you all about this community/group called Indie Arts Alliance. A couple of weeks ago, I found out about this group on Instagram. I swear social media can be so freaking awesome. I kept seeing people hashtag "Free Art Friday" and "FAF" so I decided to look up what exactly this was.

Every Friday, artists all over the world leave pieces of artwork around their community for the general public. Who ever finds the piece of art gets to keep it. The person then shares the art that they found on social media and uses the appropriate hashtags as well as tags the artist (or comments on the  artist's page) so that he or she knows that their work was found. You can find more information about Free Art Friday as well as which cities and countries are participating here.

So Indie Arts Alliance is a community/group of people who loves art. The group has even created their own little Free Art Movement for Smyrna. I decided that I wanted to see if I could find any pieces of art, but unfortunately I could not. I decided to try again the next week and I was successful in finding a really cool piece of art.

I found this adorable "Party Llama" that Emily Hassman created. I was so excited to find it. 

Seriously how freaking cute is that llama?! I can't wait to see what other pieces of art I can find every Friday. My boys were so excited when I showed them this piece and asked if they could come with me next time so that they can find some art. They even want to make some art and leave it for others to find!

For more information on the Indie Arts Alliance group check out the links below.

Facebook: Indie Arts Alliance

Instagram: @indieartsalliance

Twitter: @NDRTSAlliance

For more information on Emily's artwork check out the links below.

Instagram: @emily_hassman

Blog: Boolean

Etsy: Boolean Shop

Shop Instagram: @boolean.shop

Do you participate in the Free Art Movement in your community? Have you found any art?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Using Distress Markers to Make a Watercolor Background

A couple of weeks ago, I read a blog post by Alisa Burke. She blogged about using her kid's markers to make a colorful background in her watercolor notebook. I thought it was such an awesome idea and decided to try this technique, but I used my Distress Markers instead. Distress Markers are water-based inks and can be used in many different ways.

To make the colorful background, I just simply took a few of my markers and then scribbled onto the paper. Then I grabbed my watercolor brush, dipped it in some water and then began go over the scribbles. I didn't have to use a lot of water and you can still see some of the scribbles/markings, but that's ok. Once the paper dried, I decided to use a sharpie marker to draw some shapes and flowers. 

If you use a sharpie in a Moleskine watercolor notebook, there will be some bleed through. You can use a Micron black pen if you want to avoid any bleed through. I chose to use a sharpie since this technique is new to me and I was/am trying to get out of my comfort zone.

Supplies Used:

• Tim Holtz Distress Markers

• Moleskine Watercolor Notebook

• Sharpie Marker

• Winsor & Newton Cotman Size 10 Round Brush

Have you tried this technique before?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Art Supply Haul

I love going to the art store. Normally, I got to Michaels or Hobby Lobby, but almost two weeks ago, I went to Blick Art Materials for the first time. And you guys...I felt like I was in heaven! Today, I thought I would share a few of the things that I have purchased from various stores throughout the month.

Hobby Lobby Purchases

Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock: I was running low on Distress watercolor cardstock. I needed to get some more because this is what I am using for my 30 Days of Lists mini album. I love the size of these cards. I also love that you can use either side of the card. One side is textured and the other side is not. I tend to use the smooth side a lot more.


Strathmore Watercolor Cards: I was running low on watercolor cards so I bought another pack. Even though I can make my own watercolor cards for greeting cards, I like to have a pack of Strathmore watercolor cards because it is convenient. It saves me time from having to measure, cut and fold watercolor paper. I don't use Strathmore watercolor cards often because there are not a lot of cards and envelopes in each pack.


Kuretake Gansai Tambi Starry Colors Watercolor Set: So this purchase was both a need and a want. A few weeks ago, I bought a small bottle of Golden gold acrylic paint, but then realized that I did not have any gold watercolor paint. None of the watercolor sets that I have came with a gold or silver watercolor paint so I decided to look for some. I don't like using watercolors that come in the tubes so I was a excited when I found that Kuretake Gansai has a set of gold watercolors. The set even came with a silver as well which was awesome. It was a bit pricy, but I used a 40% coupon from Hobby Lobby so that dropped the price down.


Canson Watercolor Artboards: I have been debating getting these Canson watercolor artboards for a couple of months now. I hesitated for a while because I could not justify the price or the amount. This was $20 at Hobby Lobby and only came with 10 boards. I ended up buying this and used a coupon. I'm glad that I did buy it because I plan on making a painting for my little sister's birthday. So I do consider another want and need purchase.

Michaels Purchases

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors: I wanted to try some "professional" watercolors so decided to buy a Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolor set. Michaels had some really awesome sales and coupons a few weeks ago, so I took advantage and bought this set. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the Cotman series are actually student grade watercolors. I was very surprised because the colors look amazing. I also like the amount of paint that comes in each pan and honestly think that they will last a long time. This was definitely a "want" purchase.


Winsor & Newton Watercolor Brush: After reading Just Add Watercolor, I realized that I did not have any brushes that can be used for fine details so I immediately bought one at Michaels.


Royal & Langnickel Brush: I have a bottle of varnish at home and found out that it would be best to have a brush that I only use for it so I bought a large brush. Since all of my brushes that I have are either for acrylic paint or watercolor paint and I do use them for that purpose, I decided that it would probably be best that I just buy an inexpensive brush for the varnish.

Blick Art Materials Purchases

Moleskine Watercolor Notebooks: I am a huge fan of Moleskine notebooks, but have never owned their watercolor notebooks. I was so surprised to find out that Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Joann do not carry Moleskine notebooks. Usually when I purchase my Moleskine notebooks, I go to Barnes and Noble. Unfortunately, my local Barnes and Noble bookstore does not carry the watercolor notebooks so I either had to buy it on their online store or just try to find it in another store. I really don't like online shopping and found out that Blick Art Materials carries the notebooks. I have never been to Blick Art Materials so I was excited to check the store out and get the watercolor notebook. I bought two watercolor notebooks and they are awesome!

Have you purchased any new art supplies?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

#100DaysofArt

Happy Monday! I am so excited to participate in Elle Luna's 100 Day Project on Instagram. You can check out her Instagram page here. The challenge starts tomorrow Tuesday, April 19 and ends on Wednesday July 27. For 100 days, you get to choose what you want to do. In the past, some people have chosen to write everyday and some even made paintings. You can take photographs, doodle, or learn something new. The possibilities are endless!

I am choosing to create art for 100 days. I have noticed that many people who participate and choose to create art will select a specific art form for 100 days. For instance, one person may choose to focus on watercolors while another may focus on acrylics. I kept wondering if I should focus on just one form of art, but decided that it would be better for me to just create any type of art for 100 days. I think this will work for me because I want to be able to make something...anything every single day. I know that there will be days when I want to break out my watercolors and some days I may want to bring out my acrylics or even my Faber-Castell gelatos. I may make a card one day or a doodle another day. I may make an art journal page or a layout. Either way, I will be creating art every single day for 100 days and I hope to create a piece of artwork every day even after the challenge/project ends.

I plan to post my takes on my Instagram page which you can check out here. I am also thinking about sharing some of my artwork on the blog as well.

Do you plan to participate in the 100 Day Project? What do you plan to do for 100 days?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...