Metallic Gold

 Last week I took some time to sit and play.

With no direction or specific ideas.

Just picked out some paint colors that made me happy and a few flat canvas panels and a gold paint pen.

This is what I ended up with.

After they dried I added removable picture hanger stickers to the back of the panels.

And slapped them on a wall in my family room. And every time I see the happy colors and gold paint and gold glitter......

I smile!

I hope you find time today to do something that makes you smile.

Psst. Start with the glitter!

I Am Seeking

 

Had a little play time over the last week. I am finding that I can work on a piece for a bit, then come back to it when time allows. This is new for me, but it works. And it gives the paint some time to dry. Because I can be a bit impatient. Shocking, I know.

It's not the prettiest art I've ever created, but I tried some new things and it sure made my heart happy!

I didn't use a single traditional paintbrush.

Background is gelatos, which I blended with a watercolor brush.
Traced the outline of each color block with oil pastels.
Added dimensional dots with a thick gesso and a template.
Used my new palette knife to add gold and grey paint around the edges.
Airbrush paint to add a spot for the quote.
Then I finished it off with the gold glitter by finger painting.

Did you see that glitter in the 2nd to last photo? Makes me squeal with delight!

I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.
-van Gogh

Art Journal Magic

Well, I did it. I made time to play in my art journal this past week. Not every day. Like the days we were in San Diego. And a few other random days. But most days I played. And got paint on my fingers. And it made me happy. And it made my heart happy.

Finding My Voice

So, I've been struggling this month with finding my voice. Figuring out where I want to go with this blog. It's a constant pull between going for the "number of hits" and doing what feels right in my heart.
The reason I started this blog was to help attract people to my shop. I would love to eventually be able to work less at the "job" and more on my own shop. Live a life where I could spend my days doing what "makes my heart happy".

I've noticed some posts generate more hits than others. Like when I link up to more popular blogs. So then I feel like I need to keep writing posts that I can link to. Except sometimes I don't feel like my heart is in the post. And I don't think that someone finding my blog during a search for "photo a day" means that anyone is sticking around and checking out my other posts or my shop.

But then I feel like the more "hits" I get, the more people that will possibly see my shop.

So, I have taken some time the past few weeks to really think about how I want to handle things. And I feel like I need to listen to my heart. To write posts that make my heart happy. To create art that makes my heart happy.

This blog/shop will either make or not. But it needs to be true to my heart.

Hope this post wasn't too weird. I felt like writing a blog post would help me sort everything out. And it has.

Thanks for listening. Hope to see you again tomorrow!

And i can't post without a photo. So I searched Pinterest for "makes my heart happy". And this came up. And I'm in love. Wish I had an "art" category in my weekly/monthly budget!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/65575477/paris-graffiti-yellow-heart-wall-art

Palm Springs Blurb Book

Happy Monday everyone!

I wanted to share my first Blurb book. I decided to do something a little different than my usual scrapbook mini album for the Palm Springs trip. I had stumbled across Blurb a few times in other blog posts, and decided it was time to create my own book.


Front cover:

Back Cover:

I wanted to start small for my first try. I went with the small square (7x7inches), 20 page, softcover book. I did upgrade the paper though. So my final cost was $12.50 plus shipping. Not bad for your own book. The hardest part was waiting for it to arrive at my house. And I love it!


Inside pages:

It did take me some time to figure out the layout for each page. If you like to keep things simple, blurb will create the book for you. But of course, I have to obsess and tweak each page a million times! Yes, some days it is hard to be me.

I chose not to add words to the book, but that is definitely an option. I wanted to add my own handwriting to some of the pages to make it feel more like "me".

Bottom line is that I adore this book. It makes me smile every time I see it. I will definitely make another one, but bigger next time!

Anyone else out there used this company ? Did you totally love it too?