Gratitude's and Celebrations - Week 45 - Focus on what you can do....

Gratitude's and Celebrations Journal - The beginning page

Right now, focus on what you can do......

Are you one of those people who have a long list of things that need to be done.  You start the week out with a plan of how everything will get done and then when the end of the week comes you find that there are bits of things done and not much you can tick off your list?

I start to see the image coming out of the page

With the best of intentions and resolve I set out this week with an arm load of tasks.  I have always been one of those people who want to maximize the use of my time so end up trying to do several things at once.  To a certain extent I do like working like that, but understand that sometimes you need to try a different strategy and prioritize and move down the list one at a time.

Gratitude and Celebration - keeping the focus

Summon the toothache - it knocked me for six, what started out as sensitivity or so I thought has turned into a full blown infection some how and as I take antibiotics and painkillers while I wait to get an appointment with the dentist to decide either get root canal or have the tooth taken out,  the pain seems to be travelling around my upper and lower jaw, back of my neck and rests in a dull ache in my temple - all this from one tooth!

Page nearing completion

Life still goes on, and this has forced me to think about the priorities of what needs to be done, being active and going for a walk took my mind off it temporarily - not quite the way I wanted to start my fitness routine:) but it worked.  I had to look at what I could do within what I am experiencing, the toothache reminded me of what we (I) take for granted, and how in a moment our health can change.  

I am grateful and celebrate that I am able to make the decision to take better care of myself and see some results over time.  Beginning Monday, I am going to take the next 30 days to kick start my health and will share with you tomorrow what I will be focusing on.  Check out my post from last year about an all round fix-up - taking health for granted.

Time to Focus....

Will you take the time to join me to a healthier way of life? What can you do for you that will really make a difference to how you treat yourself. What do you need to focus on at the moment?

Gratitude's and Celebration Journal - Full of Inspiration!

Have a blessed weekend! If you want to see how I made the journal (click here) Blessings!

How did you do that? Things to do with Paper Stencils!

I shared on Saturday some cool Paper Stencils that I was inspired to make after seeing Matrices site and having a go.  Here are some more that I created, and I will at some point share with you some of the designs that I manage to make.

Creating new styles, these would make really cool reusable stencils!

I promised I would share some of the cool effects once you cut them out that you can get, you can use your Gelli plate apply the stencil and transfer an image to paper and you also get paint on the stencil itself.  Because the paper is quite thin your unlikely to use the stencil to transfer an image again, but you can use the stencil in your art and they can provide you with some interesting backgrounds.  By creating the paper stencil on thicker card or paper you will be able to use it a number of times, even try transferring the image to an acetate sheet and cutting out.

Once you start cutting you are not going to want to stop, you can come up with some really pretty designs as seen above.

 Here is one that I used with the Gelli plate, using a selection of colors will add to the effect

Simple cuts in the paper can create interesting results

 I got more adventurous with cutting and came up with more intricate designs, but due to the thinness of the paper once you had put it on the gelli plate they tore when being picked up.  I guess if you used it with sprays it would have been easier.

I wanted to see how they would print on fabric and used this design on the gelli plate

Chamois leather used on Gelli plate with paper cut

  Here is some cheap chamois leather that I printed on, and it came out quite well.  I am and looking forward to making something with it and will show you next week in Material Mondays.

Once you have used the stencil in on the gelli plate you have some really interesting colors and designs on the paper and you can use these to make your own wrapping paper by sticking it to your paper of choice

Paper cuts used on gelli plate can be used for other creative projects!

 I am going to attach some of mine to some white or black card and frame it as it, I think these are gorgeous.

Another thing I did with some of the thinner cut outs, was to apply them to journal pages as a background layer.

Paper cut applied to journal page

 After it dried I began to sketch out an image, keeping it simple and trying to keep as much as the design of the paper as possible.

Once dry add your image

 Once I was satisfied I added gesso and started painting

Adding gesso and paint to paper cut

 It was interesting starting a painting in this way, seeing what comes up as you add more colour

 Not being prescriptive as to what you wanted the finish piece to look like, but enjoying the play

And here is the finished painting.  

Mixed media Painting using Paper cutting

I am sure there are other things you can do with the paper stencils, if you come up with some ideas do share.  Check back for Material Mondays to see what I do with the Chamois leather.  Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Word for the Week - Psalm 46:1

Word for the Week - Image - Amanda Trought, Realityarts

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear...Psalm 46:1

Recycled projects - Paper Stencils and masks

I came across a tutorial by Martice Smith II which was quite inspiring, it was her intricate paper stencils and gift wrap ideas, where she creates a stencil and uses some of the designs in making your own customized wrapping paper.

Always one for having a go I thought I would make a few of my own.  I guess it is similar to paper cutting, which I never thought I would have the patience for, you can get some really intricate and beautiful designs.

For these I took some construction paper which is quite thin that had been used on one side, you can use any type of paper you like, and it is a great way to use up those pieces of paper that you would put in the recycle bin. To cut these I just used a pair of scissors, making it easy to get instant results, you could also use paper punches in some areas.

Keep the designs simple to get really great results

After you have folded your paper into a triangle and then folded a further two times you can mark out a simple design on one side.

Cutting away areas on the paper 

Cut them out, and voila you have some lovely stencils and masks below that you can use in a number of different ways.

Paper stencils - one of my favourites

Squares cut out gives an interesting design

I couldn't resist doing a few more

Simple shapes create lovely effects

and here is how they turned out

The simple designs are the most effective

 These can be used as a stencil or a mask when using the Gelli plate but the possibilities are endless!

I am going to use these to create some more Gelli prints - see my previous Gelli prints tutorial, and I will show you how the designs look on Tuesday and I will probably use these background papers to decorate some handmade books I am toying with. I will also show you how you can take the stencil once you have used it in a mixed media background.

Do check out Martice's site, she has very generously shared some of her designs in a free ebook, you need to sign up to access.  Have fun and allow your creativity to soar!