Watercolor moments...

I'm slowly adding more and more Scrapbook pages and paper art projects to the blog.  It was slow going at first but I usually get a lot more done once the summer months are over.  Thank gosh for routine and the chance to get back a since of normalcy.  Normalcy for me is having that balance between day to day things and my art practice as well as making times for photos and editing.  I did quite a bit of travel over the summer and that was exactly what I wanted but that means that some of the things I love to do get pushed back a bit.  

Today I'm sharing a soft pink page I made using some of the Maggie Holmes Carousel collection elements and my favorite go to item "tulle"!  I enjoy adding an unfamiliar item sometimes to pages, especially this one because it lets me dust off my sewing machine which I just seem to ignore for months at a time sadly.  

I wanted a lot of weight on the bottom of the page and I new the dark colored tulle wouldn't quite do it so of course I added a little wash of color using one of my gelatos.  Once it was dry I cut a few strips of dark grey tulle and flesh colored tulle into short strips slight longer than 12 inches. As I attach them with my machine I scrunch them a little while I'm sewing to get that soft ripple effect. That was meant to be the main impact of the page along with watercolor flowers.

A few watercolor flowers from my stash and some cute thickers from the "Carousel" collection was all I needed to create a simple fun page.  

Some other things I like to explore with are hand-drawn elements, fabric, tissue paper, sewing patterns and paint!  Why not throw something fun in that's not usually meant for this medium!  The outcome is always so different and fun.  I'll be sharing another page very soon!

Flowers always come after the rain...

This week has definitely been filled with every emotion with hurricane Irma making its way up Florida. I have to retreat to my paper and paints as much as possible. Sometimes watching too much news causes a lot of anxiety that can really mess with you sense of calm and balance. Most of the time for me maintaining that balance is something I strive for everyday. Everyday I'm thankful for just a little bit of simplicity and calm that creating brings for me. Everything turned out ok for me and my area with just a few downed trees and a few days without power.  My prayers go out to all that were effected during all these crazy storms we're having.  

For the most part this week I finished up a few projects and sketched as much as possible. There was a time when I wanted to dive further into illustration and then moved a little more into my watercolor practice and then acrylics. Sketching has been a constant in my life even when I'm not thinking about it.  I doodle on scrapbook pages, at work and whenever I feel like feeling that lightness of my pencil connect with paper. About a year ago I started a sketchbook with lots of little floral bouquet watercolor pieces and color swatches and kind of got out of that practice for some reason.  Since I'm sort of all over the place most times it made more sense recently to try to bring sketching and watercolor together. Some things I've learned with my practice this week. 

I love that oooh aww moment when I try something new and love it. 

I love playing around with the colors within my sketches. 

Iridescent medium is the best thing ever!

Gold and pink are the most gorgeous color!

I've started on another path of learning something new that I don't know how to do yet. 

I can paint for hours and not even notice!

I am trying to learn how to create a small set of watercolor printables perhaps after I dive into photoshop a bit more.  I'm taking notes on some things that people might like.  If there is anything new you would like to see in the scrapbooking world please let me know.  I feel like everything has been done but there is always room for more flowers and watercolored elements. They are my absolute favorite things to play with while scrapbooking.

 Take care guys...

FReedom in art

I’ve always gravitated to things that make me feel free.  Free from all the boxes and constraints of normalcy.   Freedom from the hows and whys.  I was the one asking why all the time, “can’t we do it this way”, “why do I have to put that with that”, why, why, why.  Why is there so much space between freedom and normality? 

And here comes art, this vast ocean of “whatever you want it to be”, and that is where I find my freedom.   And I love it when others find their freedom too! 

I find a lot of freedom in collage.   I love to have a big ole pile of whatever to create with.  It’s where I am most free from the order and coordination.

 And when I’m in a certain groove I never ask “what next”!

I’m sharing a few art pieces I created a few years back.  Lately I’ve been feeling that pull to create new pieces and reinvigorate my illustration skills.  I love al the gold a glitter splatters and this one was really fun to create!

I know some find freedom in running or swimming… whenever I feel like climbing out of the boxes the world tries to fit me in I just run to my first love!  I know there I can do whatever I like!

Watercolor florals...

I'm most definitely a fan of keeping lots of things in my stash and never throwing anything away unless I know without a doubt that I won't use it.  That's the same for watercolor water.  I find that the washes from an used cup of water can make the prettiest backgrounds.  I think I started with an old grey tone here and then worked in a little blues.  

Another thing in my stash is watercolor flowers, and lots of them!  I try to paint them different ways and use different brushes and techniques, and they always go in my stash for later!  

What I have as far as scrap booking tools is very limited so I try to use what I do have as much as possible!  For instance I have a few screens and they get used quite often.  I have an obsession with this floral one by Heidi swapp that I just adore!  I need more of them.  There are so many outcomes when you swipe a bit of paint over one of these amazing things!  My screen doesn't even stick anymore but I make it work!  

I've had quite a bit of craft projects to finish up on and hopefully this week I'll get them all added to the blog.  Creating is an everyday thing for me but a lot is done late at night when I'm not working or in tiny spurts in between daily activities.  

Be back soon...

The blues...

Stopping in this week to share a few post from my archives.  I've been slow working on projects but I'm hoping for a good week!

When I was younger I was always so inspired by the layouts in magazines and still today I can always pull myself out of a slump by creating collages and layouts using these photos.  I like to pull colors from the scenes and create lots of fun crafts around them.  There is something about the randomness that I love.  Something that allows me to just play and see what I end up with.  

I wanted to pull out a few post from my archives that inspired me at the time.  This one was all about the blues.

Thanks for stopping in today!

In the Garden...

As the summer slowly winds down I find myself getting into a better groove and finishing up projects, starting new ones and feeling inspired.  Hunting for new colors is always a part of that inspired feeling.  The stores are changing out merchandise, cooler temps approaching and just basically newness all around is responsible for a renewed feeling I guess.  I've also been looking through older post and trying to keep that creative spurt alive.  I used to do so many color post around 3 years ago.  I'm not so sure why I ever stopped, just got out of the groove I guess.  

I wanted to stop in a add a few post of some new and old things. No matter the season I always have spring in my head so of course there are always flowers everywhere, from artwork to floral covered boxes.  

I always have so much fun playing around with backdrops and moods in my photography.  These photos came out sort of dark and moody, one thing I love about creating different backgrounds to take photos with. This one was painted in simple grey and black tones. I want to play around with other colors but I always fall back to this one for a moodier feel. 

Thanks for stopping in today!