What are you doing with your life? - Are you ready for a challenge?

Welcome to the blog, it has been a while and I have been taking time out to come to grips with losing my mother.  I shared in my previous post, and I spent time with my sister, and we went down memory lane.  There is now only the two of just who are now the older generation...

I send love and tender hugs to all those who have lost loved ones, there is nothing that can quite prepare you for loosing someone.  We have to make sure we treasure all the memories and the time we spend with each other.

When mum first went into the first residential care home, I had put a book of her life together and filled it with photographs and some of her likes and dislikes, I spent time this week looking through it and it brought much comfort.  I am glad I shared my experience as she navigated dementia, some of the laugh out loud moments that had been tinged with fear - her walking in with two policemen laughing and joking after going missing for over 4 hours we were worried sick, she came back with tales of her adventure, and I am sure several hairs on my head went white that day.  

Mum loved adventure

In my A-Z of caring I spoke of some of the feelings that I experience, including a feeling of loss, and things not being fair, on the flip side it brought out mums' sense of humor and a love of dancing, art and so much more.

She would called herself the 'Dancing Queen' and teach whoever was interested how to do the Shimmy.  She had two favorite songs - Dancing Queen by Abba, and  One Love by Bob Marley - we had them both playing for her at the funeral - we gave her a good send off.

I now think of next steps for my life - we forget fast time flies.  What things have I been holding myself back from doing that I need to get on with? What dreams have I been sitting on?  What has yet to be fulfilled?

So, what is stopping you?  What have you promised yourself but keep on putting it off, saying to yourself tomorrow?  Tomorrow might not come and there are people out there waiting to be inspired and motivated by you!

What are you hiding from? Whose opinions do you care about so badly that you are holding back?  I have resolved for myself that over the next few months I will go all out, reaching for those dreams and creating a ton of new ones - we are not promised tomorrow, and we don't know what it may bring - see James 4:13-15.

That said, why not challenge yourself, start today, decided what you want to do and follow through - I am participating in the 'Ultimate Blog Challenge' and I will be posting every day in the month of October and sharing some of the work that I do.  Start living your best life, where your dreams however small can come true - live the life you can be proud of - I know that you can do it!

Click HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mini Art Journal & Background Page - Get Messy May - Day 1 & 2

So the Messy May prompts have started and for the first Days prompt 'Starting' I decided to make a few Matchbox sized art journals.  I will also be using them for some of the prompts to come.  The idea for me with the challenge this month is to do something creative no matter how small, so these mini art journals are ideal.  There will be some days where I do a full sized art journal spread depending on how I feel.

I am also one of the artists creating a prompt for the challenge and my day will be on Day 12 - Habit.  I hope you are able to join us and come and see how you can find additional ways to be creative and enjoy the process.

The prompt for today is 'Showing Up'

The prompt for today is 'Showing Up' and I created a background page using some of the paint supplies that I have.  I think one of the good things about challenges is that you can take the prompt where you feel like taking it, it is your creative journey so you enjoy it and the process.

These are colors that I don't normally combine together so it was great to be able to play in the art journal.

You can join us on the journey and take part, dip in and out if you wish and most of all enjoy.  My main day is on day 12 - Habit, and  I have a lovely prompt for you to do and some bonus sessions as well.  You can sign up HERE

My 31 Art Studio Essentials - Acrylic Paints

Acrylic Paints

I have a range of acrylic paints that I use for different types of work.  With the Folk Art paints I usually use this in my journals, although some of the better quality paints will give your art journal a great finish, so it is worth having a play around.

I would mostly use my main acrylic paints when I am creating paintings or art where the quality is important.

If you don't feel like painting, playing with your paints is another option.  You could spend time creating color swatches, or order your stash

Check out the Video

Art Resources to check out (click on the images)

Daler Rowney System 3

Winsor and Newton Galeria

Winsor and Newton Artisan mixable Oil Colour

Happy New Year - New 31 Days challenges!

 Happy New Year 

to You and your family!!!. 

I hope that your dreams and desires for this year are realized.  As you break all the tasks down and take small steps every day before you know it you will have achieved what ever it is you are striving for.

This month I will be working on a new YouTube channel called - The Creative Gardener, which looks at all the plants that I love growing in my garden and the tropical environment (which means that everything grows so much bigger).  

I want to share my journey of starting from scratch in the garden to developing a tropical paradise, and I am also keen to learn about the medicinal and nutritional properties of plants.  The artist in me has to come out as well and I will and will also be sharing a few outdoor creative projects.

The other thing I will be doing for this month is sharing with you my 31 Art Studio Essentials for creativity.  

It can be hard to find time for some creative play and over the next 31 days I will be sharing with you some of the ways in which I manage to find time, and they are very easy things that you can incorporate into your day as well.

Look forward to seeing you on this journey.  I will be sharing the first posts later on today!

Blessings await for 2018!!

31 Days of Art Journals - Introduction

What to expect

Thought I would give you an idea of what you can expect over the next 31 days

• Insight into how each 31 journals were made
• Video flip through of pages on Youtube and
• Weekend roundup and tips
• Video of an art journal process ie 'backgrounds'

I love working in my art journals and over the years I have made quite a few over the years, I didn't like them all.  There is nothing quite like creating one of your own from start to finish, obviously you can go and purchase one, but once you start making your own there is no limit to what you can create. I thought I would share my love of art journals that I have created.  

For the next 31 days in October I will be sharing with you some of the art journals that I enjoyed working in, and still use.

Art Journaling is part of life

They come in all shapes and sizes, and have been used in a variety of ways, some are handmade, fabric, recycled, and shop brought.  I have much more than 31 so you are getting a taster.  Over the years I have found it a great way to get ideas down, express visually when you can't find the words and see how much you have grown in your creative walk.

Start somewhere

There is no right or wrong when you are making your art journal, once you learn the techniques you can take it where you want and have some great adventures.  There are revelations and gems dwelling within the pages.  

Art Journals fighting for their space

I will also be giving you a simple video flip through so that you can get a closer look at each one, the pages are a delight, and I love the texture that you can create with each one, mini works of art and  a masterpiece in its own right.

Art Journals come in all shapes and sizes

I will also be showing you the inspiration for some of the pages in the journals.  I really do encourage you to take the time to either make or use recycled materials to make your art journal, and then add to it using different textures to create a look that speaks to you.

Handmade Journals bring intense joy

So why not join me tomorrow and see what I have to share with you over the next 31 days of Art Journals.

Last but not least, I would love to have you join me for the online class in November that I will be teaching on called Hacking the Colour Wheel - Art Journaling for Creative Rebels.  I have one spot to give away on the course and you will have access to a range of wonderful lessons to inspire and motivate you.  You will also be learning a book binding technique to create your own art journal

Art Journal - 31 Things to Create with Recycled Materials -

John Lewis Journal

I picked up a while ago a John Lewis catalog after a visit to the store with my sister. I had also joined their loyalty program and received my complimentary tea and cake voucher, which they send out I think 4 times a year – which was yummy by the way (everything in moderation)!

Recycling can come in all shapes and forms and as you would have seen over the last few weeks if you can think of a creative problem or something you need to make you can probably use a majority of the things you have around you.

After looking through the catalog it sat around my house for over a week. I thought of some of the things that I could do with it and making a journal was what I really wanted to do, but I wanted the kind that you could use the background images as a place to start, and you could also completely go over the page with gesso and create your own image. 

John Lewis Journal - Recycled creatively

What I liked about the pages was the feel and the thickness, it holds gesso well, and it had some interesting images, and this allowed you to add to the image using art supplies. 

Page to add gesso to

So where you say have an image of a bed,

Were you allowed to jump on your parents bed?

I added to it and drew in children jumping on the bed, something we were never allowed to do as kids.  With each stage a part of the process you can enjoy the separate parts or the whole.  An enjoyable exercise was to block out some of the picture for the next stage, adding gesso and a bit of colour and then adding a figure

Here are some other ways in which I altered the pages, I enjoyed placing the characters within the picture and thinking about what their story was.

Some stories tell of hope and looking to the future.....

thinking about the past, and being present.......

So now I have a set of great pages at different stages that I can use when I have time to spend finishing off a piece

Why don't you check out your local store and their catalogs, you might find one that you will be able to use as your own journal. Here is my original post that will give you a closer look at some of the pages.

31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Tea Bags

Teabag Treasures 

Tea as you know like many people is something I usually drink every day, and I have my favorites that I like. Every now and then we buy a different variety tea, and for some reason or another no one in the house wants to drink it and it passes the sell by date.  Now I am sure you can guess what is coming next…there are so many things that you can do with an empty unused tea bag!  They are really versatile, and I will show you one of the ways in which you can put them to good use.

The tea bags by the way can go in the garden and depending on the bag decompose quite well (great for roses I hear). But you want to make something creative with them don’t you?

Tea Bag Treasures

Check out my post HERE for some step by step instructions. With the bags I have I enclosed them with words of encouragement, added texture and paint. On these ones I added the quinoa – I had so much (again out of date) to get rid of! 

They were then painted and an embellishment made from either fimo clay, or shrink plastic and then it was added to the bag.  Again, with those little bits of broken jewelry you may have laying around you can bring new life into them and add some sparkle. There are countless possibilities using the altered teabags in different projects, check out my Pinterest board to see some of the ways that I found that other artists are using. 

Can you see a creative possibility in more things now? 
There are so many things you have around you are screaming to be altered, reused and re-purposed, and I often tell Alan and Sekani that if they stand still for too long around me I will be seeing if I can find a creative use for them as well (smile).  There are a wealth of possibilities when we experiment with recycled materials, come back tomorrow to see what else I have got up to with my supplies.

Why not join me on some of my other platforms, and sign up to my Mailing list you will be getting information about what I am up to in my creative journey, tutorials, Arts and health advice and resources, giveaways and more

Stay blessed and be a blessing

Amanda

31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Alcohol Marker Holders

Welcome to today's post showing you 31 Creative things to do with Recycled materials.  Even after the challenge has finished I will continue posting until you have seen all 31 examples, as I had things that got in the way, but we move forward!  

When I make something out of recycled materials I get a real kick, knowing that I have created something that I want, worked out how it needs to be put together, and so been resourceful, and also that I have created something that has another use from its' original intended form.

After I had made the first free-standing pen holder, there was nothing stopping me from making another one. I allowed some of my supplies to dictate slightly how it would look. I really loved the way it turned out and it means that my pens do not have to be stuck in a draw taking up valuable space for something else.

This storage container was made from almond milk and juice cartons, along side cardboard. I worked out the height and width that I wanted and the amount of storage I would need.

The cartons are made from a durable waterproof material, and they don’t readily get recycled here, so I knew I needed to find a way to use them rather than throw them away in the bin, (honestly I am not a hoarder). I think there has to be more government initiatives and more of us have to think about just exactly we are throwing away and use less packaging where possible. What if your rubbish was put in a hole in your back yard, you’d soon run out of space and who would want to live with that, you would soon find a use for more things that you ordinarily throw away. 

Once I had all the dimensions that I needed I put it all together, using one of my favorite tools - my glue gun, and the plaster fabric and painted. And there you have it.  I think it is quite cool!  I am debating whether I want to put an image on the side, perhaps someone with a story wants to come forward and grace the side of the pen holder.

For now I think that they look great in my space.  If I do decide to decorate I will share it with you.  It would be great to see what you come up with using recycled materials, tell me which one has been your favorite so far.  

For more inspired recycling ideas and useful tips check out Zero Waste Barbados and Journey to Zero Waste  

Have a look at some of my ideas on my Pinterest Recyled Board

Tomorrow I will be showing a spicy alternative!

Stay blessed and be a blessing!